Former ESPN anchor Elle Duncan called the discourse surrounding the WNBA "toxic as hell" and claimed that Black women are the target.
asserted
women → call → hell
"It feels like open season to dunk on Black women because we do not have protection.
asserted
we → feel → protection
Because no one cares.
asserted
one → care → ?
Because we are low-hanging fruit," Duncan said of the WNBA discourse during a discussion with Front Office Sports on Tuesday.
asserted
Duncan → hang → Tuesday
"It is very easy to dunk on us since we are, I would say, outside of transgender people, the most marginalized of the marginalized groups."
asserted
I → dunk → groups
Duncan, a highly peculiar individual, then accused "opportunists" of latching on to Caitlin Clark as a means of diminishing Black and queer women.
"
asserted
Duncan → accuse → women
It’s twofold for them—so you get to lift this one person up, and you get to, ultimately, reduce everybody else that isn’t her to nothing," Duncan said.
asserted
Duncan → ’ → nothing
At this point, you probably expect us to respond to the examples Duncan provided to support her claims about Black women in America and the WNBA.
uncertain
Duncan → expect → America
Duncan didn't provide any.
asserted
Duncan → provide → any
On the surface, I reject her premise.
asserted
I → reject → premise
She says Black women lack protection, yet her own career suggests otherwise.
uncertain
career → say → protection
ESPN hired Duncan after she was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) in April 2013.
asserted
she → hire → April
She then repeatedly used ESPN's sports programming to make personal political statements.
asserted
She → use → statements
She reportedly lobbied behind the scenes to have the company remove Sage Steele from a social justice special in 2020 over concerns about Steele's "Blackness," whatever that means.
uncertain
that → lobby → whatever
Steele was removed.
asserted
Steele → remove → ?
On at least two occasions, Duncan interrupted the network's sports coverage to protest legislation.
asserted
Duncan → interrupt → legislation
She first called for a moment of silence in response to Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill.
asserted
She → call → bill
She later used the SportsCenter set to condemn the Supreme Court's decision to return abortion policy to the states, calling on fathers to support their daughters' ability to obtain abortions.
asserted
She → use → abortions
Last year, she again ventured into political commentary on ESPN, declaring that "everyone" should adore and love former first lady Michelle Obama.
asserted
everyone → venture → Obama
Imagine the reaction if an ESPN anchor had instructed viewers that "everyone" should adore and love first lady Melania Trump.
asserted
everyone → imagine → Trump
Yet ESPN did not discipline Duncan or distance itself from her commentary, as it did Steele after she discussed political and social issues in 2021.
asserted
she → discipline → 2021
By that standard, Duncan appeared quite protected at ESPN.
asserted
Duncan → appear → ESPN
Despite all of that, Netflix has since hired her to anchor its sports coverage.
asserted
Netflix → hire → coverage
I also reject the notion that Black women lack protection in the WNBA, a league composed predominantly of black women.
asserted
women → reject → women
Recently, A'ja Wilson charged aggressively toward a fan in the stands and avoided a suspension.
asserted
Wilson → charge → suspension
DiJonai Carrington also avoided discipline after clotheslining Sophie Cunningham this summer and later accusing the WNBA of racism on social media from the locker room.
asserted
Carrington → avoid → room
Black women are also routinely afforded the benefit of the doubt by the media during WNBA controversies.
asserted
women → afford → controversies
ESPN's primary WNBA studio show features an all-black female panel and has often drawn criticism for holding Clark to a different standard than black players.
asserted
show → feature → players
Further, it's difficult to take Duncan seriously when she laments the toxicity surrounding WNBA coverage.
asserted
she → take → coverage
Duncan was among the media figures who helped politicize the league when Clark arrived.
asserted
Clark → help → league
Duncan repeatedly shamed Clark over the supposed racism of anonymous online trolls, as if Clark were somehow responsible for them.
asserted
Clark → sham → them
She has continued to stoke the same divisions since joining Netflix.
asserted
She → continue → Netflix
This summer, Duncan suggested Clark bore some responsibility for a wildly inappropriate USA Today column in which the author invoked Emmett Till while warning that Clark's silence in the face of online criticism could endanger black women.
uncertain
silence → suggest → women
The racialization of the WNBA has never been particularly difficult to trace.
asserted
racialization → trace → WNBA
Most people have been afraid to say where much of it originated.
asserted
much → say → it
Clark is a straight White woman from Iowa who entered a predominantly black league with a level of fame no WNBA player had ever possessed.
asserted
player → enter → fame
Players and media figures, many of whom were Black women, met her arrival with unmistakable resentment.
asserted
many → meet → resentment
Some explicitly attributed her popularity to white privilege.
asserted
Some → attribute → privilege
Others invoked the "great White hope" trope to explain her appeal.
asserted
Others → invoke → appeal
Elle Duncan, A'ja Wilson, DiJonai Carrington, Angel Reese, Monica McNutt, Cindy Brunson, Chiney Ogwumike, Sheryl Swoopes, and others are not innocent bystanders to the toxic WNBA discourse they now condemn.
asserted
they → condemn → discourse
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
